Deputy President William Ruto chats with Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale during a Sunday service at St Paul’s Catholic Church in Matungu constituency in Kakamega County on August 16, 2015. PHOTO | DPPS
By JOHN SHILITSA and BENSON AMADALA
The political battle over Ugandan sugar deals continued yesterday with Deputy President William Ruto accusing Cord leader Raila Odinga of owing the ailing Mumias Sugar Company millions of shillings.
Without mentioning Mr Odinga by name, Mr Ruto said politicians who owe Mumias money should be made to pay their debts.
Speaking in Matungu constituency within the Mumias sugarbelt, Mr Ruto told Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale to ask his colleagues in Cord to pay their debts because they were part of the problems that contributed to the near collapse of the giant miller.
“I saw my friend Khalwale at a press conference with some of the people who owe Mumias Sugar millions of shillings and I thought he would tell them to pay up the debts,” said Mr Ruto.
“Those playing sugar politics to gain political mileage will not succeed, they are the same people who brought Mumias sugar to its knees and are now purporting to be championing its cause,” he went on.
Jubilee and the opposition have been feuding since President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State visit to Uganda where it was reported that various trade agreements had been agreed, including one to import sugar.
Mr Odinga led the onslaught against the sugar deal, describing its as “reckless” and certain to lead to the collapse of Kenyan sugar firms and hurt sugar farmers. He has been joined in the fight by several MPs from western Kenya.
A company associated with Mr Odinga has been previously accused of owing Mumias Sugar Company millions of shillings but he has denied any wrongdoing.
MOLASSES PLANT
“There have been claims and accusations that I am among people who contributed towards the financial woes affecting Mumias Sugar Company. My molasses plant does not owe the sugar firm even a single cent,” he said at a funeral in Matungu last month.
“Mumias supplied molasses to my company on a bank guarantee of Sh2 million. Where is the Sh300 million debt coming from?” asked the Cord leader.
And yesterday, Mr Odinga challenged Mr Ruto to reveal who negotiated sugar deals with Uganda.
“The people who import cheap sugar into the country are known. They are the same people who ferried business partners, relatives and friends who are not government officials to sit in negotiations in Kampala to discuss sugar imports. Mr Ruto needs to tell Kenyans who sat at the negotiating table and how they qualified to be in the negotiations. This is not about Mumias. It is about the sugar sector all across Kenya. Tanzania does not take Ugandan sugar, nor does Rwanda. Why Kenya?” said Mr Odinga through his spokesman Dennis Onyango.
On Sunday, Mr Ruto accused Mr Odinga of politicising the sugar deal to revive his political fortunes ahead of the 2017 General Election.
He argued that the government had a strategy to revamp the sugar sector and protect the interests of local farmers as well as millers.
Mr Ruto claimed that the trade deal with Uganda would not allow dumping of cheap sugar in the local market as claimed by the Opposition.
The cost of producing sugar in Uganda was the same as Kenya, he argued, meaning that the fear that cheap imports from Uganda will end up in the Kenyan market was baseless.
“We are going to have a joint board between Kenya and Uganda to ensure cartels do not take advantage of the deal to repackage cheap sugar from outside Uganda and smuggle it into the country at the expense of farmers,” the DP said.
DAMAGE LIMITATION
Speaking at St Paul’s Ejinja Catholic Church in Matungu Constituency in what appears to be a damage limitation effort, Mr Ruto explained what Jubilee is doing for the residents of western Kenya.
He said the government has since written off debts amounting to Sh20 billion in the sugar sector, Sh600 million for the coffee sector and Sh500 million in an effort to turn around the debt-ridden tea sector.
He dismissed claims by Mr Khalwale that the sugar deal was meant to benefit certain individuals in the Jubilee government.
“As a country, we shall continue selling our products including tea, milk and meat across the Comesa region to benefit our people,” Mr Ruto added.
Accompanying the DP were leaders of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale, his Senate counterpart Prof Kindiki Kithure, Dr Khalwale, National Assembly Deputy Chief Whip Benjamin Washiali and five western MPs.
Mr Duale and Prof Kithure asked Mr Khalwale to rethink his political association with Cord if he expected the region to realise development.
“I respect Dr Khalwale and we ask him to use his influence to give the people of western direction before the 2017 elections,” said Prof Kithure.
CREDIT: NMG
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